Restart, the video game news outlet established in late 2024 with significant backing from retail giant Walmart, has ceased operations for its editorial department, confirming the layoff of its entire journalistic staff. The abrupt closure of the editorial division, which emerged barely a year and a half after its inception, was confirmed by two of its most prominent figures: news editor Imran Khan and editor-in-chief Brandy Berthelson. Berthelson, a veteran of the games media industry with two decades of experience, poignantly declared that this latest professional setback would mark the end of her career in the sector, a stark reflection of the profound and persistent challenges plaguing digital journalism.
The Short-Lived Promise of Restart and its Corporate Ties
Launched in December 2024, Restart positioned itself as a fresh voice in games media, distinguished by its unique operational model. It was established with financial and logistical support from marketing outfit Moonrock and, more significantly, Walmart, one of the world’s largest retail corporations. Despite this substantial corporate foundation, Restart actively sought to cultivate an image of journalistic independence. This aspiration was articulated in a 2024 announcement by Berthelson, still accessible on the Restart website at the time of the layoffs. The statement outlined a unique affiliate marketing arrangement: "Restart.run is powered by Walmart, but Restart.run operates as an independent site. When we mention a game, we’ll provide purchase links that will take you to Walmart using a partner tracking code. This link provides us with 0% of the sale if you decide to buy the product, but it does help Walmart see exactly how customers arrived at the product. Walmart doesn’t influence our editorial direction." Berthelson concluded, "We hope you can see this gives us zero incentive to provide biased review scores or other information about a game."
This model, while innovative in its transparency regarding the financial arrangement, immediately raised questions within the industry regarding the practicalities of maintaining genuine editorial autonomy. While the 0% commission on sales was intended to allay fears of direct financial incentive for positive coverage, the existence of a "partner tracking code" still provided Walmart with invaluable data on consumer behavior and content efficacy. Critics argued that even without direct financial kickbacks per sale, the inherent need to demonstrate value to a primary backer like Walmart could subtly influence editorial choices, perhaps favoring games available at Walmart or genres that align with their broader retail strategy, regardless of explicit directives. The short lifespan of Restart’s editorial team, lasting just over 18 months, underscores the difficulty in establishing and sustaining a credible, independent media operation under such a structure, particularly in a volatile market.
Voices from the Front Lines: A Veteran’s Farewell
The news of the layoffs quickly reverberated through the gaming community, amplified by the direct confirmations from the affected staff. Imran Khan, a respected news editor, shared the update, signaling the immediate cessation of their roles. However, it was Brandy Berthelson’s public statement that truly captured the gravity of the situation and the personal toll exacted by the current media landscape. On Bluesky, she wrote, "Well, it happened again. The entire editorial team at Restart, myself included, was laid off today. With that, my time in games media has also come to an end. After 20 years, helping to build and run multiple sites, and experiencing numerous layoffs, I just don’t have it in me anymore."
Berthelson’s declaration is more than just a personal resignation; it is a powerful testament to the escalating fatigue and disillusionment among seasoned professionals in games journalism. Her career, spanning two decades, likely encompassed the boom of print magazines, the rise of digital titans, and the subsequent contraction marked by a relentless cycle of corporate restructuring and workforce reductions. For a professional of her caliber and experience to conclude that the emotional and professional resilience required to navigate this environment has been depleted speaks volumes about the current state of the industry. Her departure signifies a loss of institutional knowledge, mentorship, and a critical, experienced voice at a time when the sector desperately needs stability and diverse perspectives. The repeated experience of building and running outlets only to see them dismantled has evidently created an unsustainable psychological burden for many.
A Broader Trend: The Shrinking Landscape of Games Media
The layoffs at Restart are not an isolated incident but rather the latest symptom of a systemic contraction that has been reshaping the games media landscape for several years. The industry has been grappling with a confluence of economic pressures, technological shifts, and evolving consumer habits that have made traditional publishing models increasingly untenable.
- Economic Headwinds: The digital advertising market, once a robust revenue stream, has become increasingly challenging. Ad spending has diversified, often shifting towards social media platforms, search engines, and influencer marketing, leaving traditional publishers with diminishing returns. Furthermore, economic downturns and corporate cost-cutting measures across various industries have led to reduced advertising budgets, directly impacting media outlets that rely heavily on ad revenue.
- Corporate Consolidation and Restructuring: A significant trend has been the consolidation of media properties under larger conglomerates, often leading to redundancies and "synergy" initiatives that prioritize profit margins over editorial breadth. In recent years, major players like GamesIndustry.biz, IGN, and Polygon have all experienced rounds of layoffs, buyouts, or significant restructuring. Polygon, for instance, saw staff departures following its acquisition by Valnet, a company known for its aggressive content production and monetization strategies. These "soft layoffs," where employees are offered buyouts or encouraged to leave, achieve workforce reduction without the negative PR of outright dismissals, but yield the same result: fewer jobs and diminished editorial capacity.
- Evolving Content Consumption: Audiences are increasingly turning to non-traditional sources for gaming news and reviews, including YouTube creators, Twitch streamers, TikTok influencers, and independent content creators on platforms like Substack. While these platforms offer direct access to creators, they often lack the institutional rigor, editorial oversight, and investigative capacity of established journalistic outlets. This fragmentation of audience attention makes it harder for traditional media to attract and retain readers, thereby impacting their advertising viability.
- Platform Monetization Challenges: The move towards ad-blockers, privacy-focused browser settings, and platform changes (like Google’s Core Web Vitals) has further complicated monetization for publishers, making it difficult to generate revenue from traditional display advertising.
Earlier in 2026, TheGamer, another prominent outlet under the Valnet umbrella, reportedly implemented a new payment system that tied writers’ compensation directly to article views. This move, widely criticized for potentially incentivizing clickbait and sensationalism over depth and accuracy, further illustrates the intense pressure on media companies to demonstrate quantifiable returns on content. Such policies can erode journalistic integrity and lead to a significant exodus of talented writers unwilling to compromise their standards for precarious pay. The long-term effect is a potential degradation of content quality across the industry, as the pursuit of views overshadows the pursuit of truth or comprehensive analysis.
The Promise and Peril of Corporate Backing
Restart’s unique entanglement with Walmart offers a case study in the complex dynamics of corporate-backed media. While the initial investment from a retail giant could seem like a boon in a financially constrained industry, it also introduces inherent challenges and perceptions that can be difficult to overcome.
Walmart’s motivation for backing Restart likely stemmed from a desire to deepen its engagement with the lucrative gaming market. By sponsoring a content platform, Walmart could:
- Drive Traffic and Sales: Even with 0% commission, the direct links to Walmart’s product pages served as a powerful funnel, guiding interested readers directly to purchase points. The "partner tracking code" provided invaluable data on conversion rates and the effectiveness of content in driving retail activity.
- Enhance Brand Association: Aligning with a gaming media outlet could help Walmart cultivate an image as a serious player in the gaming retail space, beyond just being a general merchandise store.
- Gather Consumer Insights: The data collected on what games people read about, click on, and potentially purchase could inform Walmart’s broader merchandising, marketing, and inventory strategies for its gaming categories.
However, this model presented significant hurdles for Restart’s editorial credibility. Despite explicit claims of independence, the public perception often struggles to reconcile journalistic objectivity with direct corporate sponsorship, especially from a retail entity with a clear commercial interest. Even without direct editorial interference, the underlying business objective of serving the backer’s interests can subtly shape content. For instance, an editorial team might unconsciously prioritize covering games that are readily available at Walmart or align with its demographic targets, simply to demonstrate relevance and value to their primary benefactor. This "soft influence" can be just as detrimental to perceived independence as explicit directives.
Furthermore, the long-term sustainability of a model that offers "0% commission" is questionable for the media outlet itself. If Restart was not directly profiting from sales driven to Walmart, its primary revenue sources would likely have been traditional display advertising or perhaps a direct budget allocation from Walmart/Moonrock. If the latter, then Restart effectively functioned as a high-end content marketing arm, subject to the whims and strategic shifts of its corporate patron rather than operating as a self-sustaining media business. The rapid cessation of editorial operations suggests that either the return on investment for Walmart was not met, or their strategic priorities shifted, leaving Restart’s editorial team without a viable path forward.
The Rise of Independent Journalism: A Counter-Narrative
In response to the pervasive instability of corporate-owned media, an increasing number of journalists are charting independent courses. Platforms like Substack, Patreon, and various self-hosted blogs have empowered writers to bypass traditional gatekeepers, establish direct relationships with their audiences, and fund their work through subscriptions or direct donations. This movement represents both a significant challenge and a potential lifeline for quality journalism.
The advantages of independent media are clear:
- Editorial Freedom: Journalists are free from corporate influence, ad revenue pressures, and the demands of large publishing houses, allowing them to pursue stories based purely on journalistic merit and personal interest.
- Direct Audience Connection: Independent creators can build loyal communities, fostering deeper engagement and trust.
- Flexible Business Models: Subscriptions, one-time donations, and even limited direct advertising can offer more stable and transparent revenue streams.
However, the "rise and risk" of independent media, as explored in prior industry analyses, is also evident. Independent journalists often face:
- Financial Precarity: Building a sustainable audience and income takes time and consistent effort, and many struggle to achieve financial stability.
- Increased Workload: Beyond writing, independent creators must handle editing, marketing, community management, and business administration, often leading to burnout.
- Lack of Institutional Support: They lack the legal teams, HR departments, and large marketing budgets that traditional outlets provide.
- Limited Scope: Individual journalists may struggle to cover large events, conduct extensive investigations, or maintain the breadth of coverage that a team-based editorial operation can provide.
Despite these challenges, the growing number of successful independent voices suggests that this model offers a vital alternative for both journalists seeking autonomy and audiences hungry for trusted, uncompromised content.
Looking Ahead: The Future of Games Media
The closure of Restart’s editorial team and the poignant departure of a veteran like Brandy Berthelson serve as a somber reminder of the precarious state of games media. The implications for the broader gaming ecosystem are significant. Fewer established outlets mean:
- Reduced Critical Oversight: A dwindling number of independent, well-resourced journalistic voices can lead to less scrutiny of game developers, publishers, and industry practices.
- Homogenization of Coverage: As outlets struggle for survival, they may gravitate towards covering only the most popular or commercially viable titles, leaving less room for diverse perspectives, niche games, or investigative reporting.
- Impact on Discoverability: Smaller independent games, which often rely on media coverage for visibility, may find it even harder to break through the noise in a landscape dominated by fewer, more commercially driven platforms.
- Increased Influence of PR: With fewer critical voices, there is a risk that public relations and marketing efforts from game companies could fill the informational void, leading to a less objective and more promotional narrative about the industry.
The ongoing challenges faced by games media outlets underscore the critical need for sustainable business models, a renewed commitment to journalistic ethics, and perhaps, a re-evaluation of how corporate backing can genuinely coexist with editorial independence. As career pathways within traditional media continue to be clipped, the industry must grapple with how to preserve the vital role of critical, informative, and independent games journalism for the benefit of both consumers and the industry itself. The future of informed discourse around video games depends on it.
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